Masking the Drama: A Space for Revolution in Aphra Behn's The Rover and The Feign d Courtezans.

Abstract

The construction of woman s representation follows some specific canons where man, for long, has decided what the woman can do and what she cannot, strengthening the patriarchal binary thought and imposing a dominant sexual politics. Nevertheless, the Lady Cavaliers in Aphra Behn s comedies The Rover and The Feign d Courtezans enacted a fruitful rhetorical strategy in order to be equal to men. Woman who is depicted through masculine discourse as the mute other becomes in Behn s plays the subject who dares to create a discourse of her own and she tries to create a new female identity on the stage. On the one hand, the author acted inside the patriarchal canons, she respected and recognized the king s authority and patriarchal rules but, on the other hand, she questioned the social order in the liminal space, on the stage and during Carnival, in which her female characters challenge their position, enact their revolution and create a supportive community of women. This study offers the exploration of a world constantly reorganized and it investigates the problems of power and identity always deconstructed and re-created. Through a critical reading of some psychological and philosophical theories, this research has attempted to understand the Restoration period inspecting the use of language and masquerade in Aphra Behn s The Rover and The Feign d Courtezans.